The
Strong Style Fight Team lynchpin kept his stranglehold on the
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight throne with a
clear-cut unanimous decision over consensus No. 1 contender
Francis
Ngannou in the UFC
220 headliner on Saturday at the TD Garden in Boston. All three
cageside judges scored it 50-44 for Miocic (18-2, 12-2 UFC), who
became the first fighter in history to successfully defend the
heavyweight title on three consecutive occasions.

Ngannou (11-2, 6-1 UFC) cracked the champion more than once with
right hands in a compelling first round, but his wild swings did
not net the desired result and instead came at a high price. By the
start of the second, the challenger was badly fatigued and far less
explosive. Miocic turned to takedowns and clinches from then on,
drowning the Cameroon-born Frenchman with the rinse-and-repeat
tactic. Ngannou’s situation went from bad to worse to downright
nightmarish, with Miocic either feeding him ground-and-pound or
forcing him to carry his weight on all fours.

The championship rounds offered little in the way of intrigue, as
Ngannou had difficulty with the most rudimentary of movements, his
10-fight winning streak dying with a whimper.

Cormier Mauls Outmatched Oezdemir

Daniel
Cormier retained his undisputed UFC light heavyweight
championship and did so in one-sided fashion, as he disposed of
Volkan
Oezdemir with punches in the second round of their co-main
event. Oezdemir (15-2, 3-1 UFC) wilted 2:00 into Round 2.

Cormier (20-1, 9-1 UFC) withstood an early assault from the
aggressive Swiss upstart, slowed the pace and cracked him with a
left hook that resulted in significant damage to the Henri Hooft
understudy’s right eye. He followed with a takedown, advanced
immediately to Oezdemir’s back and cinched a rear-naked choke in
the closing seconds. The bell saved the challenger but only
prolonged the inevitable. Cormier struck for another takedown in
Round 2, moved to the mounted crucifix and cut loose with short
punches until referee Kevin
McDonald had seen enough.

The setback was Oezdemir’s first in nearly four years.

Kattar Stops Undefeated Burgos

Team Sityodtong export Calvin
Kattar put away the previously unbeaten Shane
Burgos with punches in the third round of their featured
featherweight scrap. Burgos (10-1, 3-1 UFC) bowed out 32 seconds
into Round 3, as he experienced his first professional defeat.

Kattar (18-2, 2-0 UFC) set the pace with a punishing jab throughout
the first round, oftentimes doubling up on the punch. Burgos was
undeterred and answered with heavy punching combinations upstairs,
brutal shots to the body and strong inside leg kicks. At the start
of the third round, the tide appeared to be shifting in his favor.
However, Kattar wobbled the
Team Tiger Schulmann standout with a fight-altering right
cross. He followed with a pair of crushing right uppercuts and
trailed the fallen Burgos to the mat, where a burst of rights and
lefts prompted the stoppage.

The 29-year-old Kattar has rattled off 10 consecutive
victories.

Methodical Villante Edges Barroso

Former Ring of
Combat champion Gian
Villante put the brakes on a two-fight losing streak, as he
eked out a split decision over Francimar
Barroso in a three-round light heavyweight feature. Judges
David Ginsberg and Mike Mena scored it 30-27 for Villante, while
Dave
Tirelli saw it 29-28 for Barroso.

All three rounds followed a similar pattern. Villante (16-9, 6-6
UFC) marched down the
Nova Uniao representative with punches, forced him to fight off
the back foot and pushed him to the fence, unloading with power
punches in combination while mixing in a few leg kicks along the
way. Barroso (19-7, 4-4 UFC) invested in kicks and punches to the
body but too often settled for single strikes and never managed to
slow down the
Bellmore Kickboxing Academy standout.

Font Head Kick Unwinds Almeida

Team Sityodtong’s Rob Font wiped
out Thomas
Almeida with a head kick and follow-up punches in the second
round of their bantamweight showcase. Almeida (21-3, 5-3 UFC)
succumbed to blows 2:24 into Round 2, as he lost for the third time
in four appearances.

Font (15-3, 5-2 UFC) was the aggressor from the outset. He
pressured the former
Legacy Fighting Championship titleholder with power punches and
fed him a steady jab throughout the first round. Almeida started to
turn the tide late in the frame but saw his momentum stymied by a
chopping right hand in the second. The impact sent him crashing
backward, and he never fully recovered. Font stayed busy and had
him reeling again with a pair of right uppercuts before blasting
him with a head kick along the fence. More uppercuts deposited
Almeida on the canvas, where hammerfists from Font sealed the
deal.